At dusk each day, a small crowd assembles at the top of the Shwesandaw Pagoda in Bagan, Myanmar, also known as Burma. Travelers from far and near—including Buddhist monks clad in maroon robes—make the steep climb up battered, timeworn steps to watch the sun sink behind the horizon and the mighty Irrawaddy River in the distance. Orient Express’s river cruiser, Road to Mandalay, is anchored in the muddy waters awaiting a four-night sojourn that will take us 128 nautical miles upriver to the fabled city of Mandalay. Despite some clouds, the afterglow casts a golden hue over the dusty plain dotted with thousands of red sandstone pagodas of all shapes and sizes. More than 2,000 of the original 13,000 structures have survived or have been reconstructed after being toppled by earthquakes over the ages.

A decade ago, IWC enlisted its engineers and watchmakers to create a constant force tourbillon watch as a statement of the brand’s horological prowess. The Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia, unveiled last summer, embodies that goal and more. With its astronomical complications as well as a perpetual calendar, this approximately $840,000, made-to-order watch is the most complex timepiece IWC has ever built.